Dear visitor, welcome to FertilityZone .
If this is your first visit here, please read the Help. It explains in detail how this page works.
To use all features of this page, you should consider registering.
Please use the registration form, to register here or read more information about the registration process.
If you are already registered, please login here.

giving water

Hi looking for advice please.

I want to know if it's ok to give my 9 week old water between feeds - especially with the recent hot weather. A lot of people advise me to do this - that she needs it but i've also read on various websites that it can be dangerous due to water intoxication and that baby's don't need extra water until they have reached 6 months. The advice is so conflicting I don't know what to do for the best. I have gone with my instinct the last couple of days and given my lo sips of water - she will take it if she wants it but sometime just pulls a face at it. I feel i'm either killing her through thirst or killing her through water intoxication - i'm totally confused.

I did, but only a very small amount. My DD was a summer baby so I would give her boiled water each day. **** I dont know what is the correct protocol though******. I just went by what my mum had suggested. She would say the milk is their food not their drink, so she needed water also. Someone far more knowledgeable than me will pop by very soon !

This post has been edited 2 times, last edit by "19verve" (Apr 24th 2011, 3:02pm)

Hello I too gave my two cooled boiled water very often, they throughout the summer months often got quite dehydrated and then they ended up getting constipated. My gut instinct was to give then a little water between feeds, After speaking to a consultant on the childrens ward when my Prince was admitted with dehydration he advised that a baby should be offered cooled boiled water in addition to their milk, like verve said milk is food not drink and that was consultants opinion too, what he advised was for my children to have water but it is your choice so go with what you think and ehat your instincts say xx

brilliant - thanks ladies - you have put my mind at rest. I will continue to offer my lo sips of water between feeds - especially so if it is hot. This is what I am happiest doing - it seems strange to me that some expert websites advise against it - it just doesn't make sense.

Every step of the way you will have conflicting advice, It is hard sometimes to know what is right and what is wrong but at the end of the day what is right is was your instinct says and what works for you and your LO xx

A bit late in response - but I gave my two a little water too, especially when it was hot. Better to be hydrated than constipated! Trust your instinct, as Sa-Leanne says, there's conflicting advice about absolutely everything. It annoys me to the point of rebellion

Thanks all ... my instinct is to definately give sips of water. Oh don't get me started on conflicting advice - it all stated for me on the post natal ward - different midwives telling me different things, then getting told off like a naughty school girl because I did something that another midvife had told me was right .. all great stuff when you're sleep deprived, exhausted after 3 full days of labour.

Hi, I too gave my son sips of water, he was a summer baby and have given Holly some too. If it's cooled boiled water I can't see how they are being intoxicated?! I'm bottle feeding and that's made with cooled boiled water.
I know how you feel about the conflicting advice, I too was told one thing in hospital then told off my another midwife!! Crazy eh? You're best off asking on here. Hope all is going well. x

Hiya, another late reply: I was recently told by a pediatrician to give my LO baby Fennel tea to help with hydration and as a natural way to help his stomach. On a recent trip to Germany I found it being sold in the supermarket baby section and it is recommended from week 1 onwards! LO is getting slowly used to it, and it highlights again the differing advice....
Hope all going well
xx

I wanted to give my DS water as I could not see how his milk would hydrate him, I had a fab HV so asked her, she said that there was no harm in cooled boiled water when it is warm weather and I may find it best to give an hour or so after a feed rather than an hour or so before a feed as their little tummies can get full and they may not then want to take their full feed